If this is your first visit, please click the Sign Up now button to begin the process of creating your account so you can begin posting on our forums! The Sign Up
process will only take up about a minute of two of your time.

Looking for a real time video system for a search plane to find lost models

Want to make an airborn search plane out of my Radian

I don't know if this is the right place to ask but let's give it a try. Most of the threads seem to be about video recorders, which won't help me, or about expensive FPVsystems which are not what Iam looking for.

I want to create a search plane for finding lost models. I want to use my Parkzone Radian as the platform.

I would need a real time video system for my Radian that would allow me to search for planes that have gone down in the woods by flying over them and looking down. Usually the planes land on top of trees, bushes or in open spaces that should be visable from the sky.

I am NOT looking for a video camera that records for view later. That would not be helpful.

I am NOT looking for a FPV capability. I will fly the Radian in the normal fashion. Someone else will view the real time video as I fly the Radian. I don't neeed video glasses or anything like that.

I would need a video system that would transmit back to my laptop or some kind of monitor device. Medium res is probably adequate. Figure I need about 1000 foot or more range as I will mostly be looking for RC gliders and we tend to fly high and far out over woods.

This would only look down. I don't need pan or zoom features. If Ispot the model Ican circle over it to help guide the pilot to his lost model.

Total weight could be as much as 6 ounces but clearly lighter is better. I would want it to be able to remove it easily. Ideal would be something that I could clip under a wing or tape to the side that looks down.

Color would probably be best, but sound would not be needed.

Today we put $150 radio beacons in our big gliders that require a $400 radio direction finder called a walston. The club owns the Walston. But if you don't have a Walston or forgot to put it in the plane you may be looking for the plane for days. And some of these planes cost over $2000. Oftenwe are looking or a newbie's Radian or similar plane and there is no way he is putting a $150 radio beacon in his plane. And even with the Walston it can take some time to find the planes. Sound beacon plane finders are helpful and we often use them but there are times when we still can'f find them. I want to see if I can improve our chances for not a lot of money.

I have no other purpose for this other than to find lost models. This is not for FPV flying of the Radian. The lower the price the better as I hope to not need to use it too much.

I have heard aboutsystems that cost under $100 on 900 mhz and2.4 but Idon't know anything about them. Hopefully you have some experience to share.Those might work. But I have no experience with them. Will they interfere with the 2.4 GHz Spektrum DSM2 system in my Radian? How about a 72 MHz system? Do they really work or are they junk?

RE: Looking for a real time video system for a search plane to find lost models

"Today we put $150 radio beacons in our big gliders that require a $400 radio direction finder called a walston. The club owns the Walston. But if you don't have a Walston or forgot to put it in the plane you may be looking for the plane for days. And some of these planes cost over $2000. Often we are looking or a newbie's Radian or similar plane and there is no way he is putting a $150 radio beacon in his plane."

RE: Looking for a real time video system for a search plane to find lost models

Thanks to eveyone for helping me get started with this.

Quacker, that is exactly what I am looking for but at $500 to $600 for trans/receiver/camera it is way out of the price range.

Amish, that video on youtube is what I am trying to accomplish. the set-up is not described so I don't know what he is using. I would have it on a glider so I would move over the area much more slowly. The GPS is HUGE and not workable as a plane retriver for our planes.

The HobbyKing stuff is interesting but I am not sure I understand how it goes together. Have you worked with this stuff?

I will do some reading in the FPV, UAV''s & Drones forum but when I looked before I did not find what I was looking for. If you believe there is a particular thread I should look at, that would help.

RE: Looking for a real time video system for a search plane to find lost models

Just hit www.fpvlab.com or any FPV-specific forum to get the infoo you need. There are about 8 FPV Radian guys on the board already. I decided to go with the EZG Pro instead - but you can find all of our videos and even a few search and rescue threads there: